Automotive recalls - the 'fashionable' thing to do

[addyguy]

Ever since the massive Toyota recall, all you ever hear about on the news is recall after recall from all manufacturers.

Now, we'd like to believe this is b/c companies saw how badly Toyota got caught-out by there problems, anmd companies are now paying more attention to quality.

I say is a farce. Companies have realized that recalls 'look good' - it looks like they are paying attention to quality and catching problems, when there may not be that much of a problem. Recalls have beome that latest way compnanies look like they are paying attention to quality - it's beome 'fashionable'.

I've been paying attention to the auto industry for years, and I've never seen this many recalls from this many companies. If someone thinks I'm out of line, please point to another period where you saw this many recalls.

Ah, the game goes on......

 

[Steve S]

Cars are really built to the lowest possible cost so I would say recalls are good.

 

[addyguy]

I agree, if they are for a legit problem that needs to be corrected.

But you can't tell me that it is a coincidence that after Toyota's massive recall and all the problem it caused them, there are suddenly more recalls being announced everyday than ever before.

 

[KrisZ]

I don't think it became fashionable.

Companies noticed what happened to Toyota when they were basically forced to do recalls, Toyota's reputation suffered.
So the next best thing you can do is to recall voluntarily without NHSTA's Ray LaHood keeping "your feet to the fire" comments or urging people to stop driving your car, like he did with Toyota.

It just looks better if you do it yourself, than if NHSTA forces you to do it and makes negative public comments.

 

[bepperb]

Did Toyota's reputation really suffer? Their sales don't bear this out.

I don't think Ford's did really after the Explorer/Firestone fiasco.

I think it looks better to do it. I also think it drives people back to your showroom.

 

[Hokiefyd]

If Toyota's reputation has suffered, I'm sure it'll be short term. Ford dealt with some major issues a few years ago, with Firestone tires and faulty cruise control switches and faulty ignition switches causing fires. Those were the largest recalls by a manufacturer in history, and still are today. Yet Ford's reputation today is as strong as its ever been, and so is the caliber of their vehicles.

I do think the media fiasco surrounding Toyota earlier this year has scared many auto makers into performing recalls they might not have otherwise done, or at least done as quickly. I don't recall specifics, but I remember seeing some pretty "silly" recalls this year, for items that I don't think would otherwise have been recalled.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Did Toyota's reputation really suffer? Their sales don't bear this out.

I don't think Ford's did really after the Explorer/Firestone fiasco.

I think it looks better to do it. I also think it drives people back to your showroom.


Numbers say something else.

Toyota's Light vehicles sales grew only 1.1% over 2009 figures, while Ford and Chrysler enjoyed double digit growth, GM sold 6.8% more cars than in 2009.

So no matter what we think, Toyota was hit and sales numbers prove it.



http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10...sticker-prices/


http://wardsauto.com/keydata/USSalesSummary/

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: bepperb
Did Toyota's reputation really suffer? Their sales don't bear this out.

I don't think Ford's did really after the Explorer/Firestone fiasco.

I think it looks better to do it. I also think it drives people back to your showroom.


Numbers say something else.

Toyota's Light vehicles sales grew only 1.1% over 2009 figures, while Ford and Chrysler enjoyed double digit growth, GM sold 6.8% more cars than in 2009.

So no matter what we think, Toyota was hit and sales numbers prove it.



http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10...sticker-prices/


http://wardsauto.com/keydata/USSalesSummary/


Yes. And when you think about the fact that GM lost Saturn, Pontiac, Saab, and Hummer since last year as well... Those numbers are very impressive.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Ever since the massive Toyota recall, all you ever hear about on the news is recall after recall from all manufacturers.

Now, we'd like to believe this is b/c companies saw how badly Toyota got caught-out by there problems, anmd companies are now paying more attention to quality.

I say is a farce. Companies have realized that recalls 'look good' - it looks like they are paying attention to quality and catching problems, when there may not be that much of a problem. Recalls have beome that latest way compnanies look like they are paying attention to quality - it's beome 'fashionable'.

I've been paying attention to the auto industry for years, and I've never seen this many recalls from this many companies. If someone thinks I'm out of line, please point to another period where you saw this many recalls.

Ah, the game goes on......


Recalls are not new and no I don't think there are more now than ever. The difference is they are more widley discussed/known about now. Always had recalls.

I worked dealer parts and service and half the time we did them without even telling the customer it was done. As long as it was soemthing small/quick enough to do right off we just did it. If it required a lot of time obviously we would tell them.

Used to be you only found out about a recall if you got a little post card in the mail so you never knew if other mfg's had them and what they were. These days it is all over the news and internet so you know about every recall for every mfg. These days it is just something talked about more.

 

[Spyder7]

I don't think recalls are fashionable or deliberate. I think a recall is the last thing any company wants to do and something they do only when they have to, not because they want to. I don't think it helps them in anyway. Maybe for celebs any press is good press, but for an automaker this is not the case. Toyota certainly doesn't need bad press to get its name out there. Far from it. Same goes for any other manufacturer.

Recalls test shareholder faith = bad;

Recalls call into question company leadership = bad;

Recalls negatively affect public perception of a company = bad;

Recalls hurt dealers, and the companies need dealers and happy ones who are able to sell at a healthy profit rather than cut prices to razor thin margins to move inventory.

There is no upside to a recall from an automaker's perspective. They do them when they have to, and only because they have to.

-Spyder

 

[LS2JSTS]

Spyder is absolutely right. There isn't an automobile manufacturer on the planet that wouldnt love to be able to say they never have recalls. There is no upside.

The only "positives" are created by marketing spin and rationalizations.

 

[Kestas]

If it IS fashionable, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Didn't the 70s Volare have 17 recalls - a record back then?

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
I don't think recalls are fashionable or deliberate. I think a recall is the last thing any company wants to do and something they do only when they have to, not because they want to. I don't think it helps them in anyway. Maybe for celebs any press is good press, but for an automaker this is not the case. Toyota certainly doesn't need bad press to get its name out there. Far from it. Same goes for any other manufacturer.

Recalls test shareholder faith = bad;

Recalls call into question company leadership = bad;

Recalls negatively affect public perception of a company = bad;

Recalls hurt dealers, and the companies need dealers and happy ones who are able to sell at a healthy profit rather than cut prices to razor thin margins to move inventory.

There is no upside to a recall from an automaker's perspective. They do them when they have to, and only because they have to.

-Spyder


IF this is true...then the number of recalls we are seeing these days indicates the quality on new cars is going down rapidly - they all have problems!

Yes, some old cars, like the Volare are the Citation, had a lot of recalls, but it was limited to just two specific models - these new recalls are hitting everything in sight!

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
If it IS fashionable, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Didn't the 70s Volare have 17 recalls - a record back then?


I though the early Chevy Citations (1979-1980) set the official record for the most-recalled vehicle ever?

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

I'm on the fence about this. addyguy's rationale makes sense in that it really does seem to have become fashionable. (the amount of recent recalls is just incredible) I think many manufacturers have learned from Toyota that- any press is good press. In a bizarre twist of consumer psychology, people seem to have become desensitized to the stigma of recalls. Despite Toyota's repeated squirming over the UA issue and continuing supply of recall memos, people still couldn't stop drinking the koolaid, magazines and rating institutions seem to have fallen even deeper in love with them and it all has only tempered the faith the die hards have in Toyota.

On the other hand, there is no question today's business strategy is lowest bidder, rush to market and increase profitability. Now that I think about it, perhaps it really is all a business strategy: rush cars out, use the public as a beta group and refine on the fly. That way you can have your product on the lot (sales) instead of in the testing facility and exploit marketing opportunities like "we beat brand X to the market with Y feature like ZZ MPG and AAA hp" etc etc...

or it simply could be taken at face value: companies are scared of the feds.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: addyguy


IF this is true...then the number of recalls we are seeing these days indicates the quality on new cars is going down rapidly - they all have problems!

Yes, some old cars, like the Volare are the Citation, had a lot of recalls, but it was limited to just two specific models - these new recalls are hitting everything in sight!


No, it indicates that many more cars share the same parts and/or supplier than in previous years.

When was the last time you heard of a tied together Toyota/Ford recall, such as happened with the Transit Connect in China and the Toyota gas pedal recall? Suppliers who supply parts across a wide range of manufacturers and models create situations that foster larger recalls...that sometimes even cross manufacturer lines. In the past, something like that would be very unlikely to happen.

 

[whip]

Calling recalls "fashionable" might be the craziest thing I've ever heard.

 

[VNTS]

Many of these recalls are forced, if the Feds get wind of something now, safety related and the OEM doesnt disclose and recall they get fined up the wazoo.


What is the big deal anyway, the OEM probably goes to the supplier(assuming the part was defective) and hands them the bill.

What you are seeing is that some OEM's have sponged off the quality mantra and really dont have better quality than any of the others.

Going forward you may see better cars because the OEMs and parts suppliers may be willing to spend a little more money on the parts versus design to CIB(Cheap is best) attitude and hope it doesnt bite them.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: whip
Calling recalls "fashionable" might be the craziest thing I've ever heard.


When everyone and their dog does something, all at the same time, it is b/c it is 'fashionable'...it's what 'looks good' at the time.

Just like automotive recalls do, right now.

 

[Spyder7]

I breath all the time. I sleep every day (because I work nights), and I eat daily as well.

I do those things because they are necessary, not because they are fashionable.

-Spyder